Effect of Conditions of Sol-Gel Synthesis and Post-Synthetic Treatment on Photoelectrochemical and Electro-Catalytic Properties of Titanium Oxide Nanostructures and Tio2-Au Nanocomposites

Abstract

Carbon-doped mesoporous TiO2 nanostructures and TiO2-Au nanocomposites with stabilized Au nanoparticles have been synthesized by the sol-gel template method and characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning and transmission electron microscopies, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, N2 adsorption/desorption, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, and photoelectrochemical current spectroscopy. The synthesis hydrothermal treatment conditions affected the particle size, electronic structure, morphology, phase, and chemical compositions, as well as the texture of the synthesized materials. The TiO2 and TiO2-Au based electrodes were light-sensitive in a wavelength range of 250–412 nm and were distinguished by a high catalytic activity during oxygen electroreduction. The presence of -ol and carboxylate groups in the amorphous phase is the main factor affecting the photosensitivity of TiO2 nanostructures to visible light and an increase in their photoactivity during the decomposition of methylene blue upon irradiation with ultraviolet and visible light relative to pure anatase. The higher photosensitivity and photoactivity of TiO2-Au nanocomposites compared with those of the corresponding starting TiO2 is due to the synergistic effect of Au nanoparticles and interstitial Ti-O-C groups, which depends on the Au nanoparticle content of the composite and on the mesopore size.